Introducing Getting Started with Processing and our new series, Codebox

Our latest member of the Make: Books family is Getting Started with Processing, written by the creators of Processing, Ben Fry and Casey Reas. When Casey and Ben approached me to write this book, they wanted to develop a Processing complement to Getting Started with Arduino, which is perfect, because one of the last things you do in the Arduino book is connect an Arduino to a Processing sketch.

Although Getting Started with Processing is a bit bigger (208 pages as opposed to 128), it’s every bit as simple and approachable. You’ll start with the very basics and work your way up to making some very cool interactive graphics. And to maintain symmetry with its companion book, Getting Started with Processing wraps up with a Processing/Arduino project.

A number of us here at O’Reilly Media use Processing for fun and to get our job done. Andrew Odewahn has been doing a lot of interesting things with it. In a series we’re calling “Codebox,” Andrew will share some projects with you to help you go a bit further with the Processing language. Using the examples in the book as building blocks, the series will cover topics like color tracking, augmented reality, and fun interactive graphics.

In the first installment of “Codebox” (coming tomorrow), Andrew will kick things off by showing you how to create a physical “magic wand” that functions as a computer input device and can change on-screen colors on cue. This simple device opens up all sorts of possibilities which he’ll explore throughout the series.

In the Maker Shed:

Getting Started with Processing
Learn computer programming the easy way with Processing, a simple language that lets you use code to create drawings, animation, and interactive graphics. Programming courses usually start with theory, but this book lets you jump right into creative and fun projects. It’s ideal for anyone who wants to learn basic programming, and serves as a simple introduction to graphics for people with some programming skills.